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Alexander the Great, was born on or around July 20, 356 B.C.E., and is my favorite personality to read about in history. To me he is the whole package general, statesman, conqueror, and philosopher. The smartest man who ever lived, Aristotle, tutored him. Alexander conquered more of the known world than any other figure in history, accomplishing all this before he dies at the ripe old age of 33. Some people called him conqueror and violent overlord. Some other called him civilizer and even God! All of them yet, called him "The Great". He was the first man in modern history that took this name, "The Great"! Even as a young boy, he shows great promise.

Diodorus a Greek historian who lived from 80-20 BCE wrote 40 books of world history. He is an uncritical compiler who used good sources and produced them faithfully. His work is one of the oldest works available and is based on eyewitness accounts. He does a better job than most in explaining the battle scenes, and seems to be more balanced in his admiration and criticism of Alexander then any of the other early biographers. I love his Bucephalus Story, and I recount it here so you get a flavor of the promise this young Alexander shows.

The legend begins with Philoneicus, a Thessalian, bringing a wild horse to Philip for him to buy. None of the hands was able to handle it, and Philip grew upset at Philoneicus for bringing such an unstable horse to him. Alexander, however, publicly defied his father and claimed that he could handle the horse. The bet between Philip and Alexander was that if Alexander could ride the horse, Philip would buy it, if not, Alexander would have to pay the price of the horse, which was 13 talents, an enormous sum for a boy of Alexander's age to have.

Alexander apparently noticed that the horse had been shying away from its own shadow, and so he led it gently into the sun, so that its shadow was behind it, all the while stroking it gently and whispering into its ear, (Alexander seems to be the original horse whisperer). Eventually the horse let Alexander mount him, and Alexander was able to show his equestrian skill to his father and all who were watching. The incident so impressed Alexander's father, King Philip that he told the boy "Look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too little for thee". He named the horse Bucephalus, which means Ox head, and rode it across Asia, founding a city in its honor in India after its death. This story gives you an inkling about the man.

This book is a necessary read for students of Alexander, I also recommend Plutarch's and Arrian's work, and from contemporary writers, J. F. C. Fuller and Tarn. Most of Alexander's greatest military traits are in the area of military logistics and to understand his genius in this area I highly recommend reading, "Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army," by Donald W. Engels.

As a retired U. S. Army Major, I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in ancient warfare, and history.

In the Dark Night, we may feel an intensity of despair, fear, and depressiveness that seems intolerable. Yet as we learn to bear the unbearable, we gradually settle into the darkness, sensing not only its heaviness and lack of light, but also its fertility. Seeds grow in the dark. So do we. ~Robert Augustus Masters

Through Robert Augustus Masters' poetic expression, we enter a spiritual world filled with eternal paradox. In this world we are "dying to live" as we emerge from our own ashes or at least move from suffering to openness.

Truth is the heart of paradox, the revelatory logic of Being. ~Robert Augustus Masters

Robert Augustus Masters rises far above mainstream meandering mediocrity as his words merge with a divine knowing. This is original work, untainted by today's typical spiritual jargon. There is no placid perception here or regurgitated illumination. He intuitively understands spiritual paradox and goes straight to the heart of spirituality. The infinite and finite dance playfully together and then suddenly dive into a profound swirling of metaphors interspersed with poetry.

Rainy shore, shimmering sheets of darkly slumping sky
Leaning am I into the windchilled thrill of daybreak
Ocean thunder and a deeper thunder within and all around
And I am ground, ground to sand
Drowned, drowned in torrents of broken cloud
Spilling shattered against another shore

Robert Augustus Masters sheds new light on why we should love our enemies and logically presents his thoughts on why forgiveness enhances our lives. His poetic writing illuminates the mind with awakening concepts and his explanation of why we should move beyond hope and "enter into doing" helps us progress towards our goals much more quickly. When does our spiritual life truly begin? Is freedom from desire the cessation of desire? His work is also filled with practical applications for profound spiritual principles. He has worked as a psychotherapist and teacher and presents his ideas in a creatively truthful manner. Divine Dynamite holds a conversation with your heart and goes beyond cognitive understanding.

In "What's Right about What's Wrong in Relationship," I could relate to the endless effort of maintaining an intimate relationship, but also understood the necessity of being in certain environments to grow as a soul or to endure moments of turbulence (jealousy, anger) and chaos (obsession, possessiveness) in order to awaken or find "freedom through intimacy." This chapter was especially meaningful and the poems in this chapter are intensely beautiful.

Essay Highlights (Although I loved every one of the 44 essays!):

Suffering Versus Pain - Until I read this chapter I didn't realize they were different. Suffering being more about acting out the pain.

Riding a Wave of Everlasting Morning - The writing in this chapter is some of the finest I've ever seen. Metaphor heaven.

Avoiding Death Is Killing Us - What is death and how can it be a beginning? How are we affected by spiritual cycles of death and rebirth?

Divine Dynamite takes you away from ordinary existence and unlocks the chained labyrinths of the mind. If you enjoy finding solace in the complexity of sentence structure, you will enjoy the spiritual beauty intertwined with the ever-changing cycles of existence. Diving Dynamite is truly a work of art with transforming power and penetrating insight! If you are awake, this will be bliss. If you are awakening, this presents a door to a deeper life.

~The Rebecca Review

This book is told by the main character from his perspective. He just happens to be the author of the book as well, which is kind of cool. The story starts off in 2006, but the main part of it is from 2001. This book deals with alot of flashbacks, as the main character remembers and deals with his somewhat pathetic life.

The story is sparked by the discovery of his mother's death. He would then be approached by a "dark" CIA group known as the Nocturnal Legion, vampire hunters. His life would be turned upside down as they tell him that his long-thought-to-be-dead father is really alive and a vampire looking to amass a vampire army. Steven, our main character, would find out that he is a dhampir, half human and vampire. The Legion tries to convince him to join and help stop his father, but Steven refuses because he wants nothing to do with any of it.

The majority of this book follows Steven as he mianders through his nomadic life, which seems to serve no purpose any longer. He has several encounters with vampires, those who are drawn to him and those sent by his father, and many flashbacks and visions. His dreams are plagued by his father threatening to kill everyone he knows unless he joins him.

Finally, Steven goes to meet (and eventually battle) his father. The ending was a bit of a surprise, but not that much. It wasn't that the ending was predictable in what happened, but that it happened to this character. I will say this...the way this book ended, I have a sneaky felling that will be another. And I can't wait to read that one and see where Steven goes next.

In the first three lectures Troward explores the nature of the Originating or Parent Spirit, the generic relationship of the individual to this all-encompassing spirit, and the way to specialize this relationship in order to obtain greater results than would spontaneously arise by mere generic action. This process is attainable only by a new way of thinking. The sequence implies the realization of a power, an individual to understand it, and the method of applying it based on understanding its nature.

He talks of the life of the spirit and mankind as the vehicle or distribution medium, and explains the principle of receptiveness and its importance. The concept of Alpha and Omega designates the entire series of causation from the originating moment to the completed result. Although thought creates form, it is feeling that provides vitality to thought: the heart and mind of the matter. In this light, he discusses the Messiah and the great affirmative I AM which is the principle of being.

Stressing the Oneness of God, Troward emphasizes the fact that Spirit creates from nothing. God is one and this oneness finds root in ourselves, hence the expression "My Father and I are one." Thus the Creative Process proceeds in the individual. The Messiah as fulfillment of the law relates to the importance of individual improvement, serving as both explanatory cause and as a display of the full measure of effects. He argues that the better we understand the creative process, the more the objections to the gospel narratives lose their force.

The author emphasizes the significance of Monogenesis in relation to the esoteric teaching of the musical octave that fulfills itself in step seven in order to start a new series in the eighth, which becomes the first step again. He hints at a more profound understanding of the doctrine of Christ reflecting deeper phases of the law of being. Other topics dealt with include the legend of the Garden of Eden, the doctrine of the fall and the Animus Dei becoming a husband to the soul rather than a master as more comprehensively investigated in his book Bible Mystery and Bible Meaning.

A very valid point is the vast difference between worship based on fear, ignorance and/or unexplained traditions versus worship in spirit and truth which takes place through reciprocity. Troward's views of the loving givingness of spirit correspond to the nature of the Father as outlined in the epilogue of The Authentic Gospel of Jesus by Geza Vermes. This mutual love is the mystical marriage that gives birth to an ever improving individual personality in an everlasting process of growth. The metaphor of the shepherd and the stone from Genesis 49:24, Daniel and the New Testament finds its fulfillment in Messiah.

Finally, the author looks at the role of certain nations and religions in history as the expression of the Spirit on both a universal and specialized level. Further relevant information may be found in the last two chapters of Alter Your Life by Emmet Fox. Troward remarks that those who oppose the Hebrew nation must fail by a self-destructive principle inherent in the very nature of the position they adopt. The ultimate message of the lectures is that exterior things are changed by a change in the interior spiritual attitude of the individual. The Messiah represents the principle of love and the new life.

For further mystical interpretations of the Judeo-Christian scriptures and tradition that reveal and illuminate, I refer the interested reader to The Hidden Power of the Bible by Ernest Holmes, The Sermon on the Mount by Emmet Fox, The Hidden Book in the Bible by Richard Friedman and Cracking the Bible Code by Jeffrey Satinover.

I read this book years ago,got it at the local library...This is the story of the first people to ever take a helium balloon across the Atlantic Ocean...It tells of the first failed attempt and the 2nd highly successful journey that these men took.At first I thought 'Well it is no big deal',but as I read their story you start to understand just why it had never been done before,it is no small feat...After reading this book I wondered what it would be like to do something for the first time,to take an adventure...so me and a buddy canoed 250 miles down the Mississippi River ,paddling our way south ,staying on islands and having a ball....all because I read this book one week in the winter of 1989...If you read this book you may feel the same way...I give the book 5 stars on the story and the narrative...the photos and maps are very good too....One of my favorite books of all time...

This collection is notable chiefly for its inclusion of the May Pamphlets, Goodman's clearest, most comprehensive statement of his communitarian, pacifist anarchism. In these brief essays, written at the close of WWII, Goodman develops a vision of a 'piecemeal' anarchism, in which the people develop the 'habit of freedom' by employing direct action to resist capitalist coercion and alienation, using means which prefigure the social forms of a liberated society.

Goodman never succumbs to the hyper-individualism that plague many anarchist writers. Like Chomsky, he bases his philosophy not on "self-expression", but on the natural human capacity for growth and solidarity.

A provocative, exhilarating, and deeply insightful read for those concerned with the problem of human liberation, and a bold challenge to Leninism.

"A free society cannot be the substitution of a new order for the old order; it is the extension of spheres of free action until they make up most of the social life."

The true story of Donald Lang, accused of two murders and suspected of others. At time of printing he was in prison. "I don't know about The Dummy," a Chicago detective said during the research for this book, "but every time he goes through a neighborhood we find a dead broad." He is a suspect personality.
But Donald Lang was also deaf, mute, illerate and probably ineducable, possibly psychotic and perhaps brain damaged by disease and accident in childhood. He is also an American black, which is considered an informity and a defect by a major segment of the community.
He is nothing and nobody; he will never be anything or anybody. That may be the reason he is worth thinking about.

Many Christians have been taught dispensationalism all their life. Thus, they assume that this "must" be the only way to view the Bible. They think that the main debate in church history has been over whether the Rapture comes before or after the Tribulation. Well, Demar and Gummerlock have shown that that's not so.

Dispensationalists frequently claim that the early church fathers and early commentators were unanimous in their support of premillenialism. Demar and Gummerlock show that that's not so. Actually, there are two extremes here: some say that the early church was all premillennial, and some say that none of them were. History is rarely that simple, and this is no exception, as the authors point out. I was actually a little surprised that the authors came to this conclusion; I know both the authors are preterists so I assumed that they would argue that church history was predominantly or almost exclusively preterist, but they don't - they freely admit that there were certainly premillenial church fathers.

The authors argue that preterism is neither a novelty nor a newcomer on the eschatological scene. Rather, it has been held in some form or another by numerous commentators and church fathers throughout the ages. Furthermore, dispensationalists would be decidedly uncomfortable with the theology of most of the early premillennial church fathers; for example, Justin Martyr very clearly taught supersessionism (derisively called "replacement theology" by many dispensationalists). Further, you would be hard-pressed to find key dispensational doctrines like the pre-trib Rapture, the notion of two distinct people of God, or the time gap in Daniel's 70 weeks in the writings of Justin Martyr or many of the other early premillenial writers. Trust me, dispensationalists have been trying unsuccessfully for a long time, and the fact that they can't do it has been a consistent source of embarrassment for them.

They discuss many crucial issues, like the role of church tradition in interpreting the Bible (a topic that has been mostly ignored by Protestants, although the authors' conclusions on the topic are admittedly decidedly Protestant), the dating of the book of Revelation and the different church traditions on that (especially tradition from Irenaeus), preterism in the church fathers, preterism in the middle ages, and many more crucial topics. This is, to my knowledge, the only book of its kind. It very successfully challenges the prevailing myth that the early church was entirely, or even predominantly, premillennial. The authors have really done some great work here; whether you're a church history buff or are just interested in eschatology (the study of the end times), I think you'll find this book very a worthwhile read. I've been studying the Bible for a long time and eschatology for awhile and a lot of this was new to me.

Eastern State Penitentiary (now a museum) is an imposing and magnificent building that draws thousands of curious onlookers and historians every year. From its decaying walls to the stories of the prisoners that once called it home, everything about the structure is impressive. Dolan has done a brilliant job documenting the history of the prison in one concise and detailed manuscript. His writing exposes his passion for Eastern State and every section seems to have been clearly researched and bolstered with fantastic new photographs. This is a must read and one of the best books in the Images of America collection.

Very complete package.Markets are zero sum games where predators and prey can interchange their status in seconds.Funny book and booklet containing author insights about trading and life.The MEAT of the package are the audio series plus workbook where you will find first a way of thinking that will allow you to clear the fog of the market and second a specific tecnique for entries and exits in your chosen markets.Paradoxically ,I recommend it for advanced traders,since my belief is that a novice will not be able to absorb the material before he is digested by the predators roaming every financial market in search of tender prey.